Commonwealth v. Kirkwood

520 A.2d 451, 360 Pa. Super. 270, 1987 Pa. Super. LEXIS 6931
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 23, 1987
Docket217
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 520 A.2d 451 (Commonwealth v. Kirkwood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Kirkwood, 520 A.2d 451, 360 Pa. Super. 270, 1987 Pa. Super. LEXIS 6931 (Pa. 1987).

Opinions

WIEAND, Judge:

The principal issue in this appeal is whether a simple assault is committed by one who, during a dance, grabs a partner by the arm and swings the partner violently about the dance floor as a result of which the partner sustains bruises and fingernail marks of the arms.

As a result of such an incident, Woodrow W. Kirkwood was tried by a jury and was found guilty of simple assault. Post-trial motions were denied, and the court thereafter suspended a sentence of imprisonment and placed Kirkwood on probation for a period of two years. On direct appeal from the judgment of sentence, Kirkwood argues that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to show bodily injury inflicted intentionally, knowingly or recklessly; (2) the prosecutor improperly interviewed defense witnesses prior to trial; (3) [272]*272trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to plead surprise and cross-examine a defense witness after she had given testimony at variance with her pre-trial statement; and (4) after-discovered evidence compelled the granting of a new trial.

Section 2701(a) of the Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2701(a) provides that “[a] person is guilty of assault if he: (1) attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another____” The term “bodily injury” is defined as an “impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.” 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301.

“In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we view all the evidence and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, which has won the verdict.” Commonwealth v. Rivera, 349 Pa.Super. 303, 305, 503 A.2d 11, 12 (1985) (en banc). The evidence in this case included the following.

Paula Sheasley testified that on the evening of August 11, 1984, she, along with her husband, her sister, and her brother-in-law, went to the Greendale Tavern in Cowanshannock Township, Armstrong County, to dance and to get something to eat. At approximately 1:30 a.m. on the following morning, she observed that Kirkwood was also at the tavern. Sheasley was a correctional officer at the Armstrong County Prison, and she knew Kirkwood as a former inmate who was then on parole. Later, while she was dancing a fast dance with the other members of her party, she said, Kirkwood had approached her, had grabbed her by the arm and had begun to swing her violently around the dance floor. Sheasley said that she had pleaded with Kirk-wood to stop because he was hurting her, but that he had continued to swing her until her husband intervened. The incident, she said, lasted approximately forty seconds and left her with bruises and cut marks on her arms. As a result, she testified, she suffered pain in her arms and her right knee for a short period of time thereafter. Her [273]*273version of the incident was corroborated by her husband, her sister and her brother-in-law.1

The term “bodily injury” and the definition thereof contained in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301 have not been considered by the appellate courts of this Commonwealth in the factual context of a strenuous or violent dance. This Court, on two occasions, has concluded in the context of facts constituting the crime of rape that a simple assault occurred (1) when the victim was struck upon the head with an object hard enough to almost knock her unconscious, Commonwealth v. Adams, 333 Pa.Super. 312, 482 A.2d 583 (1984); and (2) when the victim was twice struck across the face from which, a majority of the court concluded, pain could be inferred, Commonwealth v. Jorgenson, 341 Pa.Super. 550, 492 A.2d 2 (1985). These decisions, however, are of little assistance to us as we attempt to apply the simple assault section of the Crimes Code to the facts of the instant case. Of greater assistance are this Court’s decisions in Commonwealth v. Fry, 341 Pa.Super. 333, 491 A.2d 843 (1985), where we held that it was not an assault to put one’s arms about a child and pick her up, and The Interest of J.L., 327 Pa.Super. 175, 475 A.2d 156 (1984), where we held that the [274]*274act of pushing another away with one’s elbow without evidence of an intent to injure was insufficient to constitute an assault.

The Official Comment to the Pennsylvania Crimes Code suggests that the definition of bodily injury appearing at 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301 was derived from Section 210.0 of the Model Penal Code. The Comment to the Model Penal Code, in turn, suggests that the definition of “bodily injury” was based on section 10.00 of the crimes code of New York. See: Toll, Pennsylvania Crimes Code Annotated § 2301 (1974 ed.). Therefore, we look also to decisions of the courts of New York, where we are able to find additional guidance. In interpreting the crimes code of New York, the courts of that state have held that petty slaps, kicks and shoves do not amount to “bodily injury.” In re Philip A., 49 N.Y.2d 198, 424 N.Y.S.2d 418, 400 N.E.2d 358 (1980). In the absence of evidence of physical impairment, moreover, testimony that the alleged victim sustained a very sore neck was insufficient to show that she had suffered the requisite bodily injury or substantial pain. People v. Hargrove, 95 App.Div.2d 864, 464 N.Y.S.2d 224 (1983). And where there was a swelling and a red mark on the victim’s face, this was held insufficient as a matter of law to establish “impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.” In re Philip A., supra. Also, a one centimeter cut above the lip, without more, was held to be inadequate to show that the alleged victim had suffered either “substantial pain” or “impairment of physical condition.” People v. Jimenez, 55 N.Y.2d 895, 449 N.Y.S.2d 22, 433 N.E.2d 1270 (1982). Finally, an incidental reference to a blackened eye without any development of its appearance, seriousness, accompanying swelling, or suggestion of pain was held insufficient in People v. McDowell, 28 N.Y.2d 373, 321 N.Y.S.2d 894, 270 N.E.2d 716 (1971). On the other hand, a punch in the nose, even where the victim has missed no time from work, wás held adequate to show bodily injury in People v. Chesebro, 94 App.Div.2d 987, 463 N.Y.S.2d 711 (1983); and a kick in the stomach, even though not requiring medical attention, was held to be sufficient to show bodily injury within the [275]*275statutory definition in In re Parks, 78 Misc.2d 281, 356 N.Y.S.2d 440 (1974).

The New York decisions, of course, are not binding upon us in our quest to ascertain the intent of the legislature in this Commonwealth. Nevertheless, the prior decisions in New York and the prior decisions of this Court suggest that the assault section of the Crimes Code was’ intended to protect and preserve one’s physical well being and was not intended to prevent temporary hurts resulting from trivial contacts which are a customary part of modern day living. See: Interest of J.L., supra, 327 Pa.Super. at 178, 475 A.2d at 157. (“...

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Com. v. Ferris, B.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2024
Com. v. Scruggs, R.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Com. v. Martinez-Rivera, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Com. v. Mallory, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Adeniran, A.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Commonwealth v. Smith
206 A.3d 551 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019)
Com. v. Bendik, E.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Davenport, K., Jr.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Commonwealth v. Duck
171 A.3d 830 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Commonwealth v. Williams
166 A.3d 460 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Com. v. Gagliard, A.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017
Com. v. Sirmons, C.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016
Com. v. Adderly, N.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016
Com. v. Hardison, E.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2014
Commonwealth v. Feerrar
38 Pa. D. & C.5th 484 (Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas, 2014)
Eaklor v. State
153 P.3d 367 (Court of Appeals of Alaska, 2007)
Commonwealth v. Marti
779 A.2d 1177 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2001)
In the Interest of M.H.
758 A.2d 1249 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)
In Re MH
758 A.2d 1249 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
520 A.2d 451, 360 Pa. Super. 270, 1987 Pa. Super. LEXIS 6931, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-kirkwood-pa-1987.